Andrew Schneider writes about public health and worker safety issues. His stories run the gamut from investigations of corporate and government cover-ups of toxic perils, to stories about gutsy federal , medical and industry workers doing what's right, to what makes the shrimp in your refrigerator glow at night and why white truffles might be worth $4,000 a pound.

Maybe now people will heed the warnings of climate change. A scientist has warned of a possible shortage of beer.

Climate change could cause a drop in beer production within 25 years, warns Dr. Jim Salinger of New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.

In a speech given this morning, Salinger said the weather can cause a decline of malting barley production in parts of New Zealand. Further, The New Zealand Herald reported, “that Australia was likely to be hit harder because the dry areas in that country would become drier and water shortages were only going to get worse.

“It will mean either there will be pubs without beer or the cost of beer will go up,” Salinger said, according to the Herald. “It will provide a lot of challenges for the brewing industry,” the paper quoted Salinger as saying.

He said breweries could be forced to look at new varieties of malt as a direct result of climate change.

Are America’s beer drinkers safe?

One of my colleagues says that some of Seattle’s micro-brewers are already having a problem getting the quality grain they use at a good price. I can’t confirm tihs because I don’t drink beer. However, I do have an urgent call into The Scotch Board in Scotland to see how my favorite single malt is holding up.